Allan's Announcements

Hello Holt Staff,

It was a long week, but we’re building up our stamina, right?

Twenty-seven items of note for this week:

• New Building Behavior Support Assistant, Julie Zybach – We’re pleased to announce that Julie Zybach will be our new Building Behavior Support Assistant (i.e. Behavior EA), who many of you already know from a long-term sub job last year and this year subbing for Lisa P. in Title. Julie is also a Holt parent of a 5th grader, so we have a new member of the Holt Parent/Staff Member Club. Julie’s first official day in her new position will be Wednesday and Jenny and I are working on securing another EA Sub to take over. Please welcome Julie to Team Holt!

 

• Wednesday PD: Shared Staff Goals Development – Wednesday at 1:30 in the library will be an optional meeting to brainstorm shared building goals teachers can cut-and-paste into TalentEd as your goals for the year if you choose. With the district push for morning meetings at the elementary level, I was thinking that could be one area of focus. We might also possibly look at some of our equity based goals on our SCIP. I’ll try to draft a few ideas ahead of the meeting to get the ball rolling, but let me know if any of you have ideas as well.

 

• Fire Drill, FRIDAY, @8:20 – This Friday at 8:20 will be our first Fire Dill of the year. It’s fine for teachers let students know about the drill ahead of time to do pre-teaching before it happens, since this is our first one of the year.

See the Holt Staff Handbook for complete details on Fire Drill Procedures, but highlights are:

• Students and staff clear the building, following the Evacuation Routes Map.
• Teachers should take their Emergency Binders (let me know if you do not have one).
• Classes walk single file to their marked spot at soft play/playground (see map).
• Students at specialists (PE, Music, Title, ELD, SPED, etc.) return to their homeroom teacher for attendance
• Teachers take attendance and raise their green card once all children are accounted for.
• Notify the admin or designee or of any missing/additional children in your line by raising the red card.
• Admin or designee running the drill will announce the all-clear when classes may return to the building.

On a related note, I’m planning on holding a “Safety Week” the week of Oct. 30th to review all the most common safety drills.

 

• Dynamo Math Groups Delayed – Due to staffing issues, the start of Dynamos math groups will be delayed until late October or early November. Dynamos reading groups start:

1st-2nd grade start Tuesday, Sept. 26
3rd-5th grade start Thursday, Sept. 28
Kinder will start mid-October

 

• School Spirit Assembly, Sept. 29 @8:05 – We’ll have our monthly School Spirit Assembly on Friday, Sept. 28 in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:10, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:05. Stay tuned for details! The first spirit day theme will be “Ultimate Holt Spirit Day” where we encourage kids and staff to deck themselves out in Holt Colors (purple and green) or Holt Gear!

 

• PTO Updates – Here is the PTO Event Calendar for the year. The first big event is the Costume BINGO & Trunk-or-Treat event for Thursday, October 26th, which will take place during the Book Fair. They might also have some food trucks come. The Spring Carnival is planned for April and the Holt Bolt Jog-a-Thon will be in May (so we can better avoid fall rain or bad air quality)

 

• YMCA Student Roster – Not on my blog, but attached to my announcements email is a list of all the students enrolled in YMCA.

 

• Hispanic Heritage Month Resources – Sept. 15 – Oct. 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. Helpful resources can be found on the Library Lowdown Hispanic Heritage Month Slide, Hispanic Heritage Month Collection on Sora, Common Sense Media, and the US Gov Hispanic Heritage Month Teacher Site.

 

• Stop, Walk, Talk Reminder – Staff decided last spring to teach Stop, Walk, Talk for common language for kids to solve minor (non-phsycial) problems on their own. I’ll put this on a futrue Wednesday PD to review with teacher, but if people want to teacher want to review this with student earlier, we we agreed last year to use lessons 1 and 2 of the Stop, Walk, Talk Bully Prevention Lessons. Lesson 1 takes about 50 minutes and lesson 2 takes about 30 minutes. Lessons 3, 4, and 5 offer additional practice for specific situations (Gossip, Inappropriate Remarks, and Cyberbullying) if teachers would like to cover these as well.

I’m also a fan of this short Stop, Walk, Talk YouTube Video done in the style of a silent film to teach kids how to use it. 

 

• Visitors & Volunteers – With COVID restrictions on visitors and volunteers gone, I’d asked for clarification on the current 4J Volunteer/Visitor Policy and I got the answer I was hoping for, which is that any parent, guardian, or adult coming into the building (whether a visitor or volunteer) needs to sign-in at the front office and also have completed a background check.

For volunteers, we are no longer limited to volunteering only for safety or instruction.

For visitors, a change from pre-COVID rules is we are no longer allowing the flood of parents in the morning to walk their children to class or breakfast, without first signing in at the office and having a completed background check on file.

The only exception to this is for scheduled meetings (IEP, 504, conferences, etc.) or large school events (open house, curriculum night, family night, PTO meetings, school carnivals, book fairs, etc.).

 

• Student Head Injury Reporting – Not new, but a reminder that 4J policy requires parent notification for all student head injuries. Linked here is the Head Injury Notification Letter and below are the steps to follow:

1. Student experiences head injury
2. Staff member completes letter and notifies guardians.
3. School nurse receives email notice of letter to guardian
4. If child is diagnosed with concussion or activity restrictions, guardians notify school.

More info can be found on the 4J Students with Concussions Webpage.

 

• FREE White Board Easel (broken wheel) – Does anyone want a free white board easel? The only catch is it has a broken wheel, so it probably needs to be stationary for the most part.

 

• School Board Policy AAC: Racial Harassment – Schools are required to inform and instruct students on School Board Policy ACC – Racial Harassment. District staff are working to take the policy and turn into a kid friendly presentation for elementary schools to use with students. More info can be found on the 4J Hate & Bias Resources Webpage.

 

• Use 4jdesktop or Freshservice for Tech Support – Please do not grab Rob in the hallway if you need tech support. Instead, put in a ticket by emailing 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu or using the 4J Freshservice Website. This documents what all is being asked of Rob at Holt and is what determines future TSS staffing levels at our building. On a related not, Erica Bowman is taking over for Rob this week. She may not be on site as much, but if you put in a ticket, she will come out if it’s something she can’t take care of remotely from downtown.

 

• Raptor Alert App on Pause – For folks not at the Staff Meeting or who missed it in the minutes, principals were emailed last week that use of the Raptor Alert App is on pause to address some tech issues. I’l keep folks posted for when we’re ready to try it again.

 

• Raptor Alert on Personal Devices – It was asked during inservice week the rules around installing the Reptor Alert App on personal vs. school devices. Principals were told building staff can choose to add this app to their personal device, however it is not a requirement. In my opinion, the app loses most of its usefulness since staff do not carry their laptop or iPad with them at all times, and even if they did you’d lose wifi as soon as you left the building. Downtown is working on a new training for staff on Raptor Alert, so we’ll see if they address this issue or not, but I’m thinking reunification situations would most likely rely on paper/paper and not the app.

 

• Equity & Inclusion Administrator Draft Job Description – If you’re interested, here is the Draft Equity & Inclusion Administrator Job Description, which takes the place of SSD Admins, though Angela Crum is still the district admin for Sheldon Region.

 

• Kid Art for CASA of Lane County – Former Holt teacher Jacque Barton is looking for student artwork that could be used for thank you and holiday cards for CASA of Lane County. See Jacque’s Email for details, but the short version is:

Thank-You Ideas: Ocean scenes, birds, cats and dogs, family, nature, abstract, etc.

Holiday Art Ideas: Fall trees, pumpkins, scarecrows, winter scenes, snowmen, penguins, mittens, hot coco, etc.

No Pokemon, but email artwork to Jacque Barton <jacqueb@casa-lane.org> or she can pick-up them up at the office.

 

• 4J Air Quality Info – Downtown emailed principals the current air quality guidelines they are following. Nothing seems different than before except I noticed they said schools will provide staff with N95 masks for any staff wanting one when AQI goes over 100.

 

• WREN Newsletter & Workshops – The latest WREN Newsletter has several new PD opportunities for both classified and licensed staff. Most of them are virtual and most of them offer a stipend if you attend. Check them out!

 

• UO Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Study – See this flyer if you’d be interested in doing a 30-60 minute Zoom interviews on DEI and then receive a $25 Amazon gift card for completing the interview.

 

• Holt Resource Map (add your info) – I’ll put this on a future Wednesday PD or Staff Meeting, but downtown wants all school to complete a “Resource Map” that lists licensed staff members’ degrees, endorsements, certifications, areas of expertise, etc. If you’re so inclined, add you info now to the Holt Staff Resource Map.

 

• SSD September Newsletter – If you are interested, here’s the September SSD Newsletter that was send to SPED teachers and principals. Lots of info in this one on info about Abbreviated School Days, meeting types, IEP timelines, mental health, and a newly created position.

 

• MagicSchool.ai Educator AI Tool – Here’s an educator specific AI tool called MagicSchool.ai. You can use it to help lesson plan, differentiate, write assessments, create rubrics, write IEPs, communicate clearly, and more. I tired it asking “Raina” to write a SMART Goal for elementary morning meetings and got a far better result than I did from ChatGPT.

 

• Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• TalentEd Self-Assessment & Goals – All staff, both classified and licensed staff, need to complete the Self-Assessment/reflection in TalentEd by Sept. 30.

• PBIS Common Area Rules Review – If you haven’t already, review the PBIS Common Area Rules Review Slideshow with your class.

• Principal Visits to Classrooms – Let me know a 10 minutes block of time I can come and visit sometime this month to introduce myself and read a story to your class.

• SELCO’s Educator Grants, Due 9/30 – SELCO’s SPARK! Creative Learning Grant Program offers grants up to $1,000, which are due Sept. 30th.

• Holt Spirit Gear Sale Deadline, TUESDAY – See Ashely’s Email for details, but the limited edition Holt Spirit Gear Sale ends Sept. 20.

• Team Sign-Ups – Feel free to add you name to the Team Sign-Ups Spreadsheet.

 

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Inside Recess – Since we very nearly had to do inside recess last week due to poor air quality, this week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook seemed timely, which is on Inside Recess. Teachers should note of posting above your door your inside recess expectations/choices for students:

Inside Recess:

Indoor recess takes place in individual classrooms under the supervision of EA personnel. Having quiet activities available to students (board games, cards, coloring materials, hopscotch, manipulatives, etc.) is important.

Expectations:
• Students may not go in the cubbies
• No electronics. This includes iPads or classroom computers
• Students should choose a seated activity
• Games and activities should be provided and taught
• Students must stay in their own classroom
• Permission is needed by supervision staff to use the bathroom
• When the lights turn off turn and look at the adult by the door
• Classroom expectations/choices should be posted above your classroom door
• A trial plan is in place for allowing some access for under cover supervision during recesses
• Classroom teachers will have expectations in Guest Teacher binder and post on the wall (near or above the door) what room expectations are.
• All certified staff will teach their students what appropriate activities are prior to the first indoor recess.

Supervision:
• EAs and additional staff will be assigned to hallways and classrooms for supervision
• Teachers will take inside recess as their regular break time and are not required to supervise classes

 

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

September 18 (M)
Dental Packets Due
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
9:00, Allan to Parent Meeting
2:45, Allan to 504 Plan Meeting

September 19 (T)
Talk Like a Pirate Day
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL Team Meeting (Library)

September 20 (W)
7:30-8:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting (Zoom)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Optional Staff Shared Goals Planning
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

September 21 (H)
Regular Day

September 22 (F)
Regular Day

September 25 (M)
8:00, Morning Announcements Begin (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

September 26 (T)
Dynamos/Title 1st & 2nd Reading Groups Begin
5:00-6:30, Curriculum Night
⁃ 5:00-5:25, Grades K/1
⁃ 5:30-5:55, Grades 2/3
⁃ 6:00-6:25, Grades 4/5
⁃ 5:30-6:30, Pizza in the Cafeteria

September 27 (W)
Happy Birthday to Me!
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Stop, Walk, Talk Review

September 28 (H)
Dynamos/Title 3rd-5th Reading Groups Begin
Holt Night Out – DoughMo Cookies
10:15, Monday Announcer Tryouts (Reich’s Room)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

September 29 (F)
Regular Day

And we’re three weeks away from our first four-day week, but who’s counting?

Allan

Greetings Bolts,

This Wednesday is Administrative Professional’s Day, formerly known as Secretary’s Day, so a BIG, BIG, BIG shout out to our awesome front office staff, Melanie and Sharon! You both are a critical part of our school that holds things together! We couldn’t do it without you!

Twenty-three items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Three updates:

1ST GRADE – If you were not at Tuesday’s Staff Meeting for the announcements, Leah Willow, currently our ELA TOSA, will return to Holt as a full-time 1st grade teacher. This was originally posted as a job-share with Gloria, but Gloria was snapped up as a Title 1 Teacher at Awbrey Park for next year. Please welcome Leah back to the Holt Team!

0.5 SPED TEACHER VACANCY – SSD is moving Sheryl Carroll to YG instead of Holt, so our part-time special education teaching position is vacant and I’ve asked SSD if I’m allowed to post for the position or if they are still working through their bumping process.

SCHOOL PSYCH – SSD emailed the School Psychologist and Consultant Assignments for next year and we get to keep Kelly. Next year she’s taking on more of a leadership role with the psych group, so we’ll be her only building and we’ll get to see her around Holt more often next year.

• Master Schedule Revised Timeline – Mentioned at Friday’s PD Meeting, we’re pushing back the Master Schedule Timeline in order to include interventionist times on the “Skeleton Schedule” for grade level teams to build their dream schedule. We’ll get the skeleton schedule to teams early this week, which will only have recess/lunches and interventionist times. If teams can plan around these times, it will make it more likely we’ll be able to combine grade level dream schedules. Specialist time are the one part we may need to rework, since morning times are the less popular time, so we’ll need some compromise in that area. The revised meeting schedule will be:

April 24-May 9:  Team Build Dream Schedule

May 9 – Reps Meet
– Combine schedule
– Plan next steps

May 16:  Staff Meeting Discussion

• NEW DATE: Earthquake/Fire Drill, TUESDAY @8:05 – We got rained out last week, but this Tuesday at 8:05 looks like better weather. We’ll start with an Earthquake Drill and then move into a Fire Drill. I’ll get on the PA to announce the earthquake drill, reviewing Drop, Cover, Hold, and will launch the drill by saying “EARTHQUAKE! DROP, COVER, and HOLD!” We’ll pull the alarm to signal when to evacuate the building. In a real earthquake, you could evacuate once the earthquake is over. There are many resources for teaching Drop, Cover, Hold at The Great Oregon Shakeout. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

• Team Meetings, WEDNESDAY– The first two Wednesdays of the month on non-Staff Meeting weeks are dedicated Team Meeting times. Teams should:

• Meet in their wing so specialists can connect if needed
• Take care of any needed team business
• Complete the Team Meeting Minutes Form (make a copy) and email it to holt_staf@4j.lane.edu

The Team Meeting Minutes Form can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

Hopefully we’ll have the skeleton master schedule template out for teams to start working on by this day.

• 2023-24 Kinder Parent and Kids Meet & Greet – If you missed it in the Quick News, I’ve invited incoming kinder families for a casual meet-up on the playground this Wednesday at 3:30. I’ll be out there to schmooze and PAHS reps will be there to get incoming families started on the volunteer background check process.

• REPEAT: Kona Ice Fundraiser, THURSDAY @1:45 – Kona Ice is coming to Holt Thursday, April 27th at 1:45. Teachers should send bus riders who brought money to hard play at 1:45, so they have time to buy and eat their shave ice before having to get onto the bus. And remember, all staff get a free shave ice! Just show your badge!

 

• Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Hat Day, FRIDAY – This Friday is the monthly Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Wacky Hat Day! Wear your favorite or wackiest hat or headwear, or simply wear your Holt spirit gear. Get kids pumped!

• REPEAT: School Spirit Assembly, April 28 @8:05 – We’ll have our monthly School Spirit Assembly on Friday, April 28th in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:10, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:05. Watch the Staff Zimbra Calendar for the Assembly Map & Details!

• Classified Staff Meeting, FRIDAY @1:30 – Classified staff will meet in the library at 1:30 to review the Neurodiversity and Behavior Presentation that Emily & Kelsey shared at last week’s Friday PD and also information about the Raptor app. Here’s are the iOS and Android links to download the app to your smartphone ahead of the meeting. Let me know if you have any additional agenda items.

• Friday PD: Staff Choice – This Friday’s PD time is designate as “Staff Choice.” Plan on doing whatever it is you signed up for on the Elementary Staff Choice PD Sign-up Form last time.

• Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week, May 1-5 – Not this week, but next week is Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week. PAHS is planning on showing their love and appreciation bringing various goodies all week and currently has a parent sign-up if you want a peek at their plans.

• Data Team Meetings, May 3rd – We are set to have roving subs cover classrooms Wednesday, May 3rd for grade level Data Team Meetings. Here’s the schedule:

1st – 8:00-8:55 (Guest Teacher Time 7:50-9:00)
5th – 9:05-10:00 (Guest Teacher Time 9:05-10:00)
3rd – 10:20-11:15 (Guest Teacher Time 10:15-11:15)
KG – 11:25-12:29 (Guest Teacher Time 11:10-12:20)
2nd – 12:55-1:50 (Guest Teacher Time 12:20-1:50)
4th – 2:05-3:00 (Guest Teacher Time 2:00-2:25)

• Neurodiversity and Behavior Presentation – A big shoutout to Emily and Kelsey for their presentation last Friday on Understanding Function, Replacement Behaviors, and Shaping for Neurodiverse Students. And here’s a direct link to the Behavior Intervention Ideas Doc that’s linked within the slideshow, though Emily did share it’s from her prior school, which was K-12 and she didn’t get a chance to delete all of the secondary info yet.

We’ll also share this same information at Friday’s Classified Staff Meeting, but I wanted to highlight the two slides below, which may be worth printing and hanging up as reminders, about Key Phrases & Language to Use with Escalated Students and the Function & Replacement Behavior Chart. Also linked below is the Rethinking Power Needs Poster.

 

 

And take note of the following key takeaways.

● Our students are changing. It is not their fault. They are still learning how to be human.
● Universal Design for Learning helps ALL students succeed and makes your life easier
● What skill does this student need to learn?
● Understanding function is key
● Replacement behaviors serve the same function more efficiently
● Use shaping to mold behavior over time
● There’s nothing wrong with extra motivators. It’s temporary.
● Take pride in the little victories: progress is progress

• UPDATE: Safety Inspection Now May 23rd – Our annual inspection date got rescheduled to Tuesday May 23rd at 10:30.

• End-Of-Year Purchasing Deadlines – the cutoff for purchase orders is Monday, May 15th. The cutoff for school credit card purchases is Wednesday, May 31st. If you need to order something by PO or credit card, it must arrive by June 20th.

• Field Trips Payment, 1-Week Notice to Melanie – If you are going on a field trip and there is a payment required let Melanie know at least one week before the trip.

• Be Descriptive on Behavior Referrals (Avoid Being Vague) – When writing referrals, be descriptive when writing up incidents. Instead of writing “Student was disruptive & defiant” or “Student used inappropriate language,” write “Student continued to talk out and interrupt the teacher after three reminders” or “Student called another student the B-word.” This makes things more clear to parents what happened and leaves kids less wiggle room to make excuses for their behavior.

• Licensed IEP/504 Time Log – As a reminder, the Licensed IEP/504 Time Log is for teachers to record times you’ve attended IEP and 504 meetings during your prep time or beyond regular work hours. The deadline is to complete the form is June 8th and payment would be on your June 30th paystub. Teachers can receive up to 12 hours compensation.

• Raptor (Emergency Drill) App – Downtown wants principals to rollout the Raptor App (iOS and Android) with staff before the end of May, so I will add this to a future licensed and classified staff meeting. Click the link above if you’d like to add the app now to your phone or iPad. The Tech Department should have everyone entered into the system and attached to Holt when you log in with your 4J email and password.

• Interior Classroom Blinds – Facilities asked me to share the following with staff for increasing the lifespan of the interior classroom blinds facing the hallway:

• Use Swivel Stick to Open (Not Pull String) – To open your classroom blinds, use the swivel stick to rotate the blinds open instead of pulling the drawstring to pull them up and down. The weight of the larger blinds is too much for the string and the mechanism.

• Avoid Item Pushed Against Blinds – Please do not have items on the ledge next to the blinds, which can then get pushed against and damage the blind.

• District Admin Updates – See this email and this email for full details, but here are a few admin moves for next school year. Jim Moore, principal at Edgewood, will be the new South Eugene Athletic Director. Peter Barsotti, principal at Madison, will the new North Eugene Athletic Director. Sarah “Poppy” Campbell (who I’ve been friends with since pre-school), assistant principal at Spencer Butte, will be the new principal at Charlemagne. Brian Watson, assistant principal at Monroe, will be the new principal at Kennedy, whose current principal, Jen Hebard, will be the sole principal for Chinese Immersion instead of both CI and Kennedy. And a couple out-of-district folks, Nain Muñoz is the new principal at North Eugene and Kee Zublin is the new principal at South Eugene. This leaves unfilled principal jobs at Chavez, Edgewood, YG, and Madison, along with a few AP jobs.

• May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – Next month is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. If you’re looking for teaching resources, check out NEA, WeAreTeachers, ReadWriteThink, and the US Library of Congress for loads of ideas. There’s also quite a few stories on Sora.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

April 24 (M)
PAHS Can & Bottle Drive (4/26 – 5/19)
Spring Benchmarking Window Opens
Library Week #2 Classes
3rd Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
3:00, Allan to Parent Meeting
3:45-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

April 25 (T)
8:05, Earthquake/Fire Drill
8:30-1:30, 4th Field Trip to UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Cobb & Reich)
5:45-7:15, Conscious Discipline Parent Night (Library)

April 26 (W)
Administrative Professionals Day (KG)
8:30-1:30, 4th Field Trip to UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Benavides)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
1:45-2:45,3rd Grade Delgani Strings Assembly (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
3:30-4:30, 23-24 Kinder Parent and Kids Meet & Greet (Soft Play)

April 27 (H)
8:00, Allan Meeting w/Amy Page & Justin Huntley (Office)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
1:30-3:00, Kona Shave Ice Fundraiser (Hard Play)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Meeting (Library)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Elem Job Expo Round #2 (Zoom)

April 28 (F)
School Spirit Day – Wacky Hat Day
8:05-8:35, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Staff Choice
1:30-2:30, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)

May 1 (M)
Teacher Appreciation Week
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
PAHS Can & Bottle Drive (4/26 – 5/19)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
4th Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

May 2 (T)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

May 3 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
8:00-2:50, Data Team Meetings
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

May 4 (H)
Holt Night Out – Elkhorn
5:00-7:00, ACE Awards Celebration (SEHS)

May 5 (F)
School Lunch Hero Day (2nd)
8:45-9:45, 5th Grade Monroe MS Tour (Walking Field Trip)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Friday PD – Building Based (Equity)

Only 8 more Mondays until summer!

Allan

Howdy Everyone,

A shoutout to Holt’s ACE Award nominees, Alex, Emily, Kendallyn, Lesli, and Lisa G. Thank you all for your work and for making our school look good!

Fifteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Three staffing updates:

• 23-24 Part-Time SPED Teacher, Sheryl Carroll – SSD has placed Sheryl Carroll into Whitney’s position for next year, where she will be 0.5 FTE at Holt and 0.5 FTE at Gilham.

• Darren Out Rest of Year – Darrin will be out on leave for the remainder of the year, but luckily Abby is able to continue to fill this position.

• 2nd Grade 1:1 EA, Julie Zybach – Outside of Abby, Julie has been our most regular classified sub at Holt this year, and she has agreed to fill the 2nd Grade 1:1 EA sub job, supporting a challenging student who was placed at Holt, for the rest of school year. Please welcome Julie to the team!

• REPEAT: Holt Night Out Fundraiser – DoughMo Cookies, TUESDAY – This Tuesday a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at DoughMo Cookies! Owned by a Holt family and located in Downtown Eugene at 980 Oak St. under the Overpark Parking Garage (free parking the first hour). I went there myself and thought they were pretty darn tasty! Get your kids excited.

• REPEAT: Team Meetings, WEDNESDAY– For this week’s Team Meetings, make sure you have a grade level rep selected for Friday’s Master Schedule Committee Meeting. Also make sure your team is in agreement regarding the master schedule questions shared in prior announcements.

As usual, be sure to complete the Team Meeting Minutes Form (make a copy) and email it to holt_staf@4j.lane.edu

The Team Meeting Minutes Form can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

• Friday PD: Master Schedule Committee Meeting – This Friday’s PD is a Building Based and we are using it for our first Master Schedule Committee Meeting. We’ll meet at 1:30 in the library to share where teams are at on subject area times, recesses, morning meetings, closing meetings, ELD pullout times, PE/Music morning preferences, and library times. Following this meeting, the schedule will be:

April 12-26 – Teams Build Dream Schedule
April 25 – Reps Meet to combine schedule and plan next steps
May 2 – Staff Meeting Discussion

• Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 17-21 – Please add your team info to the Volunteer Appreciation Treat Sign-Up for what sweet treat your team will bring on Monday, April 17th that will be good through the week (i.e. Hershey kisses, pretzels, chocolate, caramel cookies, granola bars, lollipops, or your favorite teacher treat). This is our last sign up until the EOY BBQ.

• Earthquake/Fire Drill, April 19 @10:05 – Not this week, but next week on Wednesday, April 19th at 10:05, we’ll hold our second and final Earthquake drill of the year right and will then hold our Fire Drill Evacuation. With 3rd grade on a field trip this day, we can hold these drills during their recess and also not step on anyone’s PE or Music times. 4th grade will be lined up outside when I announce the earthquake drill, so they should follow the Shakeout guidance of: If outside, get clear of buildings, power lines, trees, light poles and other dangers, drop down to your knees and cover your head and neck. Or we could do the drill two minutes later if 4th would rather do it from their classroom.

When it comes time for the drill, I’ll get on the PA to announce the earthquake drill, reviewing Drop, Cover, Hold, and will launch the drill by saying “EARTHQUAKE! DROP, COVER, and HOLD!” We’ll pull the alarm to signal when to evacuate the building. In a real earthquake, you could evacuate once the earthquake is over. There are many resources for teaching Drop, Cover, Hold at The Great Oregon Shakeout. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

 

• REPEAT: Sheldon Drama Club Addams Family Assembly, April 21 @8:30 – Not this week, but next week on Friday, April 21st, the Sheldon Drama club will perform for us. The assemble will be in the cafeteria from 8:30-9:30. the grade level signs and cones so classes know where to sit. Attendance is optional, but it should be a fun assembly. Linked here is the Assembly Map and Directions.

• Friday PD: April 21 – Equity – April 21st is another “Building Based” Friday PD and our Equity Team is putting on a presentation around neurodiversity and de-escalation strategies.

• SCIP (School Continuous Improvement Plan) Update – Site Council reviewed and revised the Draft SCIP (School Continuous Improvement Plan) I emailed earlier. The plan is mostly the same as our School Improvement Plan as last year, except that we pulling out one action item from our Equity & Inclusion goal regarding parent involvement and made that a goal all it’s own. The other change is that the SCIP plan required us to target specific historically underserved groups, so our new goals read as:

1. Revitalize and re-engage post-pandemic parent involvement of families of students of color.
2. Emerging bi/multilingual students and students of color will maintain regular school attendance.
3. With a focus on increasing inclusive and equitable school-based practices and systems, students on IEPs and students of color will experience meaningful academic, social, and emotional growth.

Downtown may require us to slap a number onto these goals, in which case I might add 85% or 90% of students will…, but really our goal should be for 100% of students to be successful. Downtown Friday Evening provided an updated timeline that states the plans due at the end of the month are merely drafts and the final plan isn’t due until September, though I feel we already have a pretty solid plan.

We’ll discuss this at our next Staff Meeting where folks can suggest any additions or changes.

 

• Library Books to Book Nook (help stamping?) – We got an official okay for the library books being discarded to go to Book Nook. The original plan for the discarded books was to pay a company to take them away and recycle/pulp them, so Financial Services said it was okay to give them to kids, though the district librarian said we needed to stamp them discard/discontinued and black out any 4J markings, so let me know if any of your classes would like to take a box for this task or I can have a naughty kid owing time in the office take it on.

• Earth Day (4/22) Resources – If you missed it in the latest Eco Experience, Earth Day is Saturday, April 22nd and there is a 4J Earth Day Webpage with loads of elementary resources and activities you could use the next two weeks leading up to that day.

• April SSD Newsletter – If you’re interested, linked here is the April SSD Newsletter that was shared with SPED teachers and principals. This edition includes info about specially designed instruction, required FBAs, and rules for conducting observations of students.

• Love Food Not Waste Resources – If you’re interested, here is the Elementary Love Food Not Waste Resource document that includes information, resources, and more. And, here is the 3-Year Love Food Not Waste Plan for background information.

• Field Trip Ideas – COVID got us out of practice on Field Trips, but WeAreTeachers has some tips and suggestions for you, including the best field trip ideas for every grade, the best virtual field trips, and an article titled Why I Hate Field Trips (And How I Learned to Deal). Plus, don’t miss these free field trip permission forms.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

April 10 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
3:45-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

April 11 (T)
Holt Night Out Fundraiser – DoughMo Cookies
8:45-5:15, 5th Grade Outdoor School (Camp Wilani)
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

April 12 (W)
8:45-5:15, 5th Grade Outdoor School (Camp Wilani)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings

April 13 (H)
8:45-5:15, 5th Grade Outdoor School (Camp Wilani)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
2:45-3:30, Allan to Evaluation Planning Meeting (Zoom)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Elem Job Expo Round #1 (Zoom)

April 14 (F)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Master Schedule Rep Meeting (Library)
2:30-3:00, Attendance Team Meeting (Library)

April 17 (M)
Volunteer Appreciation Day and Treat Table (Sunshine/Staff)
Library Week #1 Classes
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
2:40-4:30, Talent Show Auditions (Reich’s Room)
4:00-5:30, All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

April 18 (T)
Holt Night Out Fundraiser – Papa’s Pizza
1:20-1:50, Kinder Music Performance (Gym)
2:30-4:00, Talent Show Auditions (Music Room)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)
4:00-5:00, 4J Library Advisory Meeting (Library)

April 19 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
9:00-12:15, 3rd Grade Science Center and Planetarium Field Trip
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:40-4:30, Talent Show Auditions (Reich’s Room)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

April 20 (H)
Oingo Boingo Day
2:45-3:45, PBIS/Equity/SEL Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

April 21 (F)
Eid al-Fitr, End of Ramadan (Major Religious Holiday)
8:30-9:00, Sheldon Drama Club Assembly (Cafeteria)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Friday PD – Building Based (Equity)

April 22 (SA)
Earth Day

Back to the 5-day week grind!

Allan